Jiajing (Iris) Mo 

Jiajing completed her BA in Archaeology at Nanjing University between 2008 and 2012 before being awarded a Master’s degree in Archaeology at Peking University (2012-2015). Before she started her research postgraduate program at Durham in 2018, she worked as an academic editor and translator.

Jiajing has long been fascinated by the archaeology of religion, and its material evidence; leading to her initial study of the introduction and spread of Buddhism across China, with particular focus on the caves constructed in the 5th-6th century CE.

Joining Durham allowed her to shift this interest directly to the homeland of early Buddhism within South Asia. Initially registered as an MPhil research student, and now upgraded to PHD status, her study focuses on the archaeology and architecture of Nepal’s western Terai, a region rich in pilgrimage sites associated with the life of Buddha. Jiajing is also an active participant in fieldwork linked to Durham’s UNESCO Chair team, including working within the Japanese-Fund-in-Trust-for-UNESCO programme in Nepal, with colleagues from the Lumbini Development Trust and Department of Archaeology, Government of Nepal.

Affiliated research